How is your garden growing? Got tomatoes? Do you have more than you can use? If so, here is a recipe for you. It’s a quick tomato sauce that can accompany pasta, ravioli, pizza, shrimp and can be a base for any bean or squash dish—really you can use it on whatever your little heart desires.

Ingredients

Olive oil

Onions, at least two

Garlic, at least two big cloves

Lots of tomatoes

A good-sized bunch of parsley

A good-sized bunch of basil

Red or white wine, about a glop

One dried hot pepper (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Pour olive oil to lightly cover the bottom of a large caste iron skillet. If you want a little kick to your sauce, put a dried hot pepper into the olive oil. (Pull it out just before you add the tomatoes.) Turn the heat on at medium. Add onions that have been sliced so that they are the size of the top of your thumb. Let the onions cook a minute or two, then add the minced garlic. When everything has turned a nice yellow, add the chopped tomatoes. How many tomatoes? How much sauce do you want? That’s how many tomatoes. I used a potato masher to smoosh down the tomatoes. Add salt and pepper.

I wait until it all starts to simmer then I add a glop of wine. I add red wine, if I want a robust flavor. I add white wine for a more subtle flavor.

I let it simmer for ten or fifteen minutes to reduce the liquid. If I plan to put the sauce on pizza, I make sure to reduce out most of the liquid. If I’m going to use it on pasta or chick peas, I leave more liquid.

When you’ve arrived at your intended consistency, add lots of fresh, chopped basil and parsley. Let that simmer for a minute or two. Your sauce is ready. Buon appetito!

P.S. This freezes well.